Locomotive



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H. K'. ADAMS. LOUOMOTIVE.

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LOGOMOTIVE. I No. 353,395. Patented Nov. 30, 1886 Witmaooe 5] 14/1)cm-lo z 33% @is atrouwga UNITED STATES PATENT OrFIcE.

HENRY K. ADAMS, OE NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE.

LOCOMOTIVEQ SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 353,395,dated November 30, 1886.

Applicationfiled April 16, 1886. Serial No. 199,075. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

about the center of the pedestal will be per- Be it known that I, HENRYK. ADAMS, a pendicular to the line of np-and-down movecitizenof theUnited States, residing at Nashville, in the county of Davidson andState of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inLocomotives; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompapying drawings, and to the letters and figuresofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

with the drivers.

My invention relates to locomotives, and more especially to that classof locomotives which is used for light trafiic, as on pole-roads inlumbering regions, on tramways in cities or in suburban towns, oncontractors temporary railway-tracks, and other similar roads. Insteadof acting directly on the drivingwheels, as in most locomotives, theseengines are usually provided with a separate engineshaft, on which is apinion meshing with a spur-gear on an intermediate or master shaft,which is in turn geared to the driving-axles.

In order to carry the spur-gear clear of any obstructions on the track,the master-shaft must be placed considerably above the plane of thedriving-wheel axles, and heretofore it has been customary to use chainsand sprocketwheels to communicate power from the mastershaft to thedrivingwheels. In the case of pole-road locomotives, I find that theexacting service to which they are subjected results invery rapid wearof the chains; and as their renewal is expensive, I have done away withthem entirely and substituted connecting-rods, as hereinafter described.Furthermore, when the master-shaft is set above the plane of thedriving-wheel axles, and the pedestals which receive theaxle-boxes arevertical, or at right angles to the plane of the axles, the shifting ofthe axle-boxes up and down in the pedestals tends to constantly alterthe distance between the master-shaft and the axles, and results instraining and breaking the chains or the rods connecting themaster-shaft To obviate this difficulty, I set the pedestals at such anangle that a line passing through the center of the master-shaft and thecenter of the axle when its box is at a side elevation of apole-locomotive equipped with my rod-connection. Fig. 2 is a plan Viewof the forward part of the frame, showing the master-shaft, spur-gear,sprocket-wheels, 850. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation on line or 3 Fig.2, showing the inclined pedestals.

Similar letters refer to similar parts in all the views.

A is the engineshaft, carrying a pinion, B, which meshes with a spurgear, 0, on the master-shaft D. This spur gear is so large that themaster-shaft D is located above the plane of the axles G G, in order toraise the gear above stumps, stones, or other obstructions on the line.On each end of the master shaft is a crank'disk, E, its wrist-pin beinglettered F. On the main or driving axles G G are mounted thedriving-wheels H H, each of which is provided with a crank-pin, I. Thedrivingwheels may have the usual tread and flange, as shown, or they mayhave double flanges to better adapt them for use on poleroads.

The distance from the center of the axles G G to the center of theirwrist-pins I I is the same as that from the center of the mastershaft Dto the center of its wrist'pin F, so that all the wrist-pins describeequal circles.

Rods K K, of the usual construction, connect the wrist-pin F with thepins I I. Although theserods stand at an angle with each other, yet theyoperate perfectly, and communicate motion to the driving-wheels quite aswell as though the mastershaft were in line with the axles G G. Whenchains are used instead of rods, the master-shaft D is provided withfour sprocket-wheels, L L L L, and on each axle G are two suchsprocket-wheels, M M. A drive-chain, N, passes from each sprocket L toits corresponding sprocket, M.

O O are the pedestals which receive the axleboxes G G. Seated betweenthe axle-boxes and the frame I? are strong spiral springs S S.

When the pedestals are perpendicular, as they usually are-that is, setwith their center line at right angles to the plane of the driving-wheelaxlesthe movement of the boxes up and down in the pedestals, owing toirregularities in the road or other causes, continually changes thedistance from the centers of the axles to the center of the mastershaft.This tends to break the rods or the chains which conimunicate power fromthe mastershaft to the drivers, and in order to reduce the possibilityof this to a minimum I incline the pedestals O O, as shown in Fig. 3, sothat their center line, 1 1, is at right angles to the line 2 2, passingthrough the centers of shaft D and axle G, when the axlebox G is at orabout the center of the pedestal. As the line of move ment of the axlesis thus made tangential to a circle having its center at D and a radiusequal to D G, as the parts are shown in Fig. 3, it follows that the playof the axle G along the line 1 l on either side of the line 2 2 willonly very slightly alter the distance between D and G, not more than inpractice will be taken up by the lost motion in thejoints of the machinery.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. In a locomotive, the combination, with two drivingaxles provided withwheels and crank-pins, of a master-shaft receiving motion from theengines and located above the plane of the drivingwheel axles, acrank-disk on said master-shaft, and rods connecting said crank-diskwith the crank-pins on both the driving-wheels, substantially as and forthe purpose set forth.

2. In a locomotive, the combination, with a master-shaft receivingmotion from the engines and located above the plane of the main axles,of one or more main axles provided with driving-wheels, and means forcommuni= eating motion from the master-shaft to the main axles, saidaxles being mounted in pedestals which are inclined to the plane of themain axles, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a locomotive, the combination, with a master-shaft receivingmotion from the en gines and located above the plane of the main axles,of one or more main axles provided with driving-wheels, and means forcommunicating motion from the master-shaft to the main axles, said axlesbeing mounted in pedestals which are inclined to the plane of the mainaxles, so that their center line is tangential to a circle struck fromthe center of the master-shaft and touching said center line,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a locomotive, the combination, with the engineshaft A, providedwith the pinion B, of the master-shaft D, spur-gear O, crankdisk E,wrist-pin F, driving-wheels H H, crank-pins I I, connecting-rods K K,and pedestals O O, which are inclined so that their center line, 1 1, isat right angles to the line 2 2, substantially as and for the purposeset forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY K. ADAMS.

\Vitnesses:

J AS. S. PILOHER, THo. S. WEAVER.

